Collapsible toothbrush



Oct. 25, s RHDNER, 5

COLLAPS IBLE TOOTHBRUSH Filed Nov. 13, 1946 mum,

Patented Oct. 25, 949

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COLLAPSIBLE TOOTHBRUSH George S. Ridner,Sr., Newark, N. J.

Application November 13, 1946, Serial No. 709,507

1 Claim.

This invention relates to tooth brushes of the collapsible type and moreparticularly represents an improvement upon the telescopic tooth brushdescribed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 690,752,filed August 15, 1946.

The tooth brush described in the above-mentioned application comprises ahollow handle and a brush head adapted to be telescoped within thehandle when the tooth brush is not in service and to be slid outwardlyto extended position through an open end of the handle when the brush isto be used for brushing the teeth. In this form of tooth brush thehandle is formed with a wedge-shaped portion adapted to bind within acorrespondingly shaped area defined by the opposed walls of the handleadjacent one end thereof so as to frictionally lock the brush head inits extended position while the tooth brush is in use. While such formof tooth brush is satisfactory from a utilitarian standpoint, it isnevertheless somewhat expensive to manufacture requiring as it does theuse of material, preferably a plastic, of variable thickness in thefabrication of the brush handle to provide for the wedge locking action.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide in a toothbrush of the above collapsible type improved means for locking the brushhead in extended position relative to the handle and which at the sametime permits the tooth brush to be manufactured largely from sheet stockof uniform thickness in a simple and economical manner.

Another object of my invention is to provide a tooth brush of the abovetype which is compact in construction, neat and attractive in appearanceand which holds the wet bristles of the brush head in erect,laterally-compressed condition after use so as to preserve the life ofthe bristles.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention,reference being had to the annexed drawing in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a collapsible tooth brush with thebrush head entirely withdrawn from the hollow handle for the sake ofgreater clearness Figure 2 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 1 butshowing the opposite side of the tooth brush;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through one side of thehollow handle of the tooth brush;

Figure 4 is an end view of the handle; and

Figure 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through one side of thetooth brush showing the brush head in extended position.

The collapsible tooth brush shown in the drawing comprises a hollowhandle H and a brush head B slidable therein from a collapsible positionwithin the handle to an extended position projecting outwardly throughan open end of the handle.

The handle H is made of sheet material of uniform thickness, such forexample as a stiff plastic of the nature of Celluloid, formed to tubularshape and of rectangular transverse crosssection. The brush head B is ofapproximately the same length as the handle and at its inner end, asindicated at I, corresponds in shape generally to the cross-section ofthe hollow interior of the handle so as to make a sliding fit therewith.Tufts of bristles 2 project from a flat face of the brush head adjacentits forward end, and a flat side wall 3 of the handle H is cut inwardlyfrom one end thereof to provide a clearance slot 4 for the bristles whenthe brush head is retracted within the handle. The slot 4 is of such awidth that its side edges bear against and laterally compress thebristles and maintain them in erect position when the brush head is slidinto the handle.

The means for locking the brush head in extended position and which forman important feature of the present invention are as follows: The flatside wall 5 of the handle, opposite the side wall 3, is recessed to forman open narrow track 6 extending centrally but terminating short ofopposite ends of the handle. The side edges of the track lie parallel toeach other throughout a major part of the length of the track butadjacent one end of the handle-namely, the end from which the brush headis adapted to be extended-the side edges of the track converge, asindicated at I, and thence open into a circularshaped recess 8, thediameter of this recess corresponding approximately to the width of thetrack throughout its non-convergent portion.

A pin 9 having a mushroom head 9a is mounted in the upper face I of thebrush head B adjacent an end thereof remote from the bristle-holdingportion. This pin is cylindrical in transverse cross-section and is ofsuch diameter as to snugly fit and be slidable within the track 6 withthe flat underside of the head 9a closely overhanging the sides of thetrack. The construction and arrangement is such that when the brush headB is Withdrawn from the handle the pin 9 will freely slide along thetrack 6 throughout the portion of its length which is of uniform width,but as the brush head approaches its fully extended position the pinwill ride into the constricted portion I of the track and exert aspreading pressure thereon, so that as the pin finally rides into therecess 8 the sides of the track will snap back to their normal unsprungcondition behind the pin and releasably lock the pin within the recess.While this locking action is sufiicient to hold the brush head extendedunder usual conditions of use, only a slight longitudinal pressure bythe fingers against the end of the brush head is required to force thepin out of the recess and to slide the brush head to completelytelescoped condition within the handle H.

In order to aid the locking action just described and to hold the brushhead against wobbling in the handle when in use, as a result of possibleplay between the brush head and the handle, an elongated tapered bead Iof the same material as that of which the handle is made is providedupon the inner face of the flat side 5 of the handle in line with butpositioned beyond the track 6 nearest its circularly recessed end. Thisbead rides within a guide channel I I extending centrally of the brushhead from its outer end thereof to a point somewhat in advance of thepin 9. The bottom of the channel at its innermost end is upwardlyinclined, as indicated at Ila, the arrangement being such that as thebrush head is drawn out of the handle into its locked position, the beadtracking within the channel I I rides up the slope II a, thus pressingthe fiat under-face of the brush head tightly against the opposing flatface, or side 3, of the handle. handle the bead I0 is completelywithdrawn from the channel and bears against the flat surface of thebrush head within the area indicated by dotted lines I Ib in Fig. 1.

It is believed that the manner of use of the collapsible tooth brushjust described Will be readily apparent. When carrying the tooth brushin a ladys handbag, a suitcase or a toilet kit, the brush head B willlie within the hollow handle H with the bristles projecting a shortdistance beyond the plane of the slot 4, and this slot maintains thebristles laterally compressed and in properly erect position. When thetooth brush is to be used, the brush head is gripped by the fingers anddrawn outwardly from the handle. During this action the pin 9 slideswithin the track 6 and the bead I0 slides within the channel II untilthe pin snaps into the recess 8 and the bead has ridden up over theslope Ila, at which time the brush head becomes locked. in its fullyextended position. After using the brush, the brush head is slid backinto the hollow handle by longitudinal finger pressure applied to theouter end of the brush head.

Obviously various changes in the form, construction and arrangement ofthe several parts of my new collapsible tooth brush may be made In thefully extended position of the '4 and substituted for those herein shownand described without departing from the nature and principle of myinvention as defined by the following claim.

I claim:

In a tooth brush of the collapsible type, the combination comprising ahollow tubular handle having a plurality of enclosing walls and an openend and a brush head having an inner end permanently telescoped with thehandle and slidable so as to move its other outer end from a positionwithin to a position outside the handle through the open end of thehandle, a field of bristles projecting from one side of the brush headadjacent its outer end, a slot in a wall and opening through the openend of the handle providing clearance for the bristles when the brushhead is retracted within the handle, locking means for releasablyretaining the brush head in extended position relative to the handle,said locking means comprising a slot defining a track in a wall of thehandle'opposite from the wall containing said bristle-clearance slot andextending longitudinally of the handle, said track being constricted inwidth adjacent its. end located nearest the open end of the handle andterminating in a widened portion, and a pin on the brush head slidablewithin the track and provided with a head overlying the marginal edgesof the track, whereby when the brush head is moved to fully extendedposition the pin travels along the track, wedges apart the constrictedportion and snaps into the widened portion of the track so as to holdthe brush head against retraction, a. bead upon the inner face of thetrack-carrying wall of the handle and located adjacent the open end ofthe handle and a guide channel in the coacting face of the brush headtraversible by the bead, said guide channel having a raised bottomadjacent the inner end of the brush head and engageable by the bead forcamming the brush head into tight frictional contact with the inner wallof the handle when the brush head is moved to fully extended position toinsure a non-wobbing fit between the brush head and handle.

GEORGE S. RIDNER, SR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 959,574 Moore May 31, 19101,407,214 Osborne Feb. 21, 1922 1,440,770 Creath Jan. 2, 1923 1,682,325DAmico et a1 Aug. 28-, 1928 1,947,720. Laub Feb. 20, 1934 2,071,747Houlihan Feb. 23, 1937 2,083,728 Mayer June 15, 1937 2,130,661 ZaebstSept. 20, 1938

